Kitchen end panels: sizes, fitting and matching

What end, filler and island panels are, the sizes UK makers sell, how they fix and trim, and how to match one to an old kitchen.

Updated 5 November 2026 · The Kitchen Resprayer

The short answer

Kitchen end panels cover the exposed side of the last cupboard in a run, in the same finish as the doors. Most are 18 to 25 mm thick and come oversized, so you trim and scribe them to the wall, then screw them on from inside the unit.

On an older kitchen the hard part is the match. If your range is no longer made, or the doors have faded, respraying the doors, drawer fronts and panels together gives one colour.

The kinds of kitchen end panel

An end panel finishes any cabinet side you can see. DIY Kitchens puts it simply: at the end of a run you need either an end panel to cover an exposed end, or a filler panel if there's a small gap between the last unit and the wall. Here are the kinds you'll find in UK ranges:

Panel	Where it goes	Example size
Base end panel	Side of the last base unit	900 x 600 mm (DIY Kitchens); 870 x 590 mm (B&Q GoodHome)
Wall end panel	Side of a wall unit	772 x 325 mm (DIY Kitchens); 350 mm or 800 mm high (Kitchen Kit)
Tall or larder end panel	Side of a tall housing or larder unit	2320 x 600 mm (DIY Kitchens); 2400 x 600 mm (Kitchen Kit)
Island or breakfast bar back panel	Back or end of an island or peninsula	900 x 900 to 900 x 2000 mm (DIY Kitchens); 2100 mm (Kitchen Kit)
Filler panel	Small gap between a unit and a wall or appliance	100 mm wide, 575 to 2300 mm high (DIY Kitchens); 715 x 146 mm (Kitchen Kit)
Cover panel (IKEA)	Side of a METOD cabinet at the end of a row	39 x 86 cm, 1.2 cm thick

Makers' and retailers' listings, read 5 November 2026. Kitchen Kit panels are sold at Toolstation.

Replacement end panel

Goes in when the cabinet is built. B&Q's wording: substitute the coloured end panel for the standard white one in the cabinet pack. It's the side of the unit, so it can't be added later without stripping the cabinet.

Clad-on end panel

Fixes over the side of a unit that is already built and in place. B&Q says they come with a rounded or straight front edge and can go straight over wall tiles. This is the one you add to an existing kitchen.

Full height or inline

Better Kitchens draws the line at the plinth. A full height panel runs to the floor and the plinth stops against it; an inline panel stops at the plinth line and the plinth runs on underneath.

Filler instead

A filler closes a narrow gap where a full end panel would be wasted. DIY Kitchens says a filler is more cost effective there, and advises one either side of a freestanding cooker.

Which units need an end panel

Only the sides that show. DIY Kitchens says the answer depends on the door style: where the carcase colour is virtually identical to the doors you may not need one, but with high gloss or painted doors an exposed end needs a panel. It recommends panels in door material, which is finished on all edges, rather than unit material.

Don't use a strip of plinth as a filler. DIY Kitchens points out that plinth is finished on the front and back only, not down its long sides, so the raw edge shows. For how plinths themselves fit and where they meet a full height panel, see kitchen plinths, cornice and pelmet.

There are other ways to finish a run. DIY Kitchens lists returning the plinth to the wall, tongue and groove panels on a shaker kitchen, pilasters, and a curved base unit to soften the end.

Sizes and what they cost

There's no single standard size. Each range has its own, so buy from the same range as your doors. Thickness matters too: DIY Kitchens says an end panel is around 18 to 25 mm, and lists 18 mm for most of its ranges and 19 mm door material for Clayton and Linwood. IKEA's cover panel is 1.2 cm.

Panel	Size	Listed price
DIY Kitchens base end	900 x 600 mm	£67.88 ex VAT
DIY Kitchens wall end	772 x 325 mm	£34.85 ex VAT
DIY Kitchens tall end	2320 x 600 mm	£135.76 ex VAT
DIY Kitchens island backing	900 x 900 / 1165 / 2000 mm	£120.40 / £155.78 / £166.62 ex VAT
DIY Kitchens filler	100 mm wide, 575 to 2300 mm	£17.42 to £31.22 ex VAT
B&Q GoodHome Alisma base end	870 x 590 x 18 mm, MDF	£95, fixings not included
Wickes decor ends, 18 mm	Base, wall and tall	Base £61 to £67; wall £46 to £48; tall £85 to £106
Kitchen Kit (Toolstation)	Base 900 mm; larder 2400 x 600 mm	Base £28.34 to £44.54; larder £48.14 to £91.34
Kitchen Kit breakfast bar back	900 or 2100 mm	£105.74
IKEA FÖRBÄTTRA cover panel	39 x 86 x 1.2 cm	£25
Naked Kitchens painted, made to size	23 mm thick	From £567 (reeded)

Listed prices, 5 November 2026. DIY Kitchens prices exclude VAT.

Count the panels into your measurements. Two 25 mm panels take 50 mm off the space for units, DIY Kitchens says, and a 600 mm extractor won't fit between two wall units once both have end panels on. Walls aren't true either: its example is a run that measures 3000 mm at the bottom and 5 mm more a metre up, so measure at several heights.

How to fit a kitchen end panel

Panels come oversized on purpose. B&Q says they're supplied taller and wider so you can trim them to uneven walls and floors, and DIY Kitchens says the same of all its panels. The steps for a clad-on panel:

1. Decide the height

Check whether the panel stops at the cabinet or also has to cover the cornice or pelmet above or below it (B&Q).

2. Allow for the door

Clamp the panel to the cabinet side so it sits proud by the door thickness and hides the cabinet edge. For push-to-open doors, B&Q says allow an extra 5 mm.

3. Mark and cut

Mark the excess with a pencil and straight edge and cut with a fine-toothed saw (B&Q) or fine tooth blade (DIY Kitchens), for a clean edge on the finished face.

4. Tape the cut edge

Any cut edge that will show gets colour-matched edge tape (B&Q).

5. Screw from inside

Drill pilot holes and screw through the cabinet side into the panel, so no screws show. DIY Kitchens says the screw must be shorter than the cabinet side and panel combined, and you may need to take pan drawers out to reach.

6. Fix anything past the units

A panel that stands beyond the cabinets, like an island end or a support for a worktop overhang, needs fixing to the wall, worktop or floor (DIY Kitchens). It advises no more than 300 mm of unsupported worktop overhang.

On wall units, DIY Kitchens says panels can be glued or siliconed, but screws are easier to get back out. Fillers are usually glued with silicone or held with L-brackets or mod blocks. Tall panels are very heavy, so get help lifting one.

Short of a tall panel for two wall units? DIY Kitchens suggests cutting one 1560 mm tall end in half for two 720 mm wall units, or cutting a panel in half lengthways to cover both ends of a run, smooth edges showing.

Scribing a panel to an uneven wall

Scribing means copying the wall's line onto the back edge of the panel and cutting to it, so the panel sits tight with no wedge-shaped gap. B&Q recommends a scribing kit for a perfect fit. Hold the panel plumb against the cabinet, run the scribe down the wall to draw the line, then cut and plane to it a little at a time, offering it up as you go.

Where the panel runs to the floor too, scribe one edge at a time and check again after each cut, because taking wood off the floor edge drops the panel and moves the wall line. It's slow, fiddly work on a panel that can cost over £100 for a tall end, and a cut in the wrong place can't be put back. One supplier's care sheet is blunt about that: once a product has been altered from the state it was supplied, it can't be replaced.

Matching an end panel to an old kitchen

New panels only match if they come from the same range as your doors, and older ranges get discontinued: B&Q has marked GoodHome's Chia end panel discontinued and sold it off on clearance. Even when the range is still made, the old doors have moved. DIY Luxury Kitchens, a door supplier, warns:

"Any door range, whether it be over lacquered, vinyl wrapped or painted will change colour over time due to natural UV exposure. Please be aware of this natural occurrence if replacing doors previously installed."

So a fresh panel next to ten-year-old doors can read as a different white or a brighter grey. A made-to-measure painted panel can get close: Naked Kitchens says it will colour match its paint to any colour, but that "slight variations in sheen and material may result in slight visible variation of colour".

The same applies the other way round. If you're buying replacement kitchen doors, your old end panels won't match them, so count new panels into the order or have them sprayed.

Respraying end panels with the doors

On a respray, end panels are sprayed where they stand. Doors, drawers and plinths go to the workshop, and the fixed parts are sprayed in place: Matt Finish lists "end panels, cornice, pelmet, flyovers, carcass edging, open shelves". Because every part is sprayed in the same paint, there's nothing to match. The kitchen respray process covers masking and timings.

On price, Spraying Revolution publishes £40 a panel, which sits within what a new panel costs at the listings above. Firms set out end panels differently, so check they're on any quote; what a kitchen respray costs shows how. If your panels are foil or laminate rather than painted wood, see painting laminate kitchen cupboards for the prep that surface needs.

Where this comes from

All read 5 November 2026. Firms change their prices and terms; check the current position with them.

Common questions

Panels that cover the exposed side of a cupboard at the end of a run, in the same finish as the doors. There are base, wall and tall end panels, plus island and breakfast bar back panels. Some replace the white side of the cabinet; others, called clad-on panels, screw over the side once the units are in.

It depends on the maker. B&Q's GoodHome base end panel is 870 x 590 x 18 mm, DIY Kitchens sells a 900 x 600 mm base end and a 2320 x 600 mm tall end, and IKEA's FÖRBÄTTRA cover panel is 39 x 86 cm and 1.2 cm thick. Most are supplied oversized so they can be trimmed to fit.

Clamp it to the side of the unit, allow for the door thickness (plus 5 mm for push-to-open doors, says B&Q), mark and cut the excess, then screw through from inside the cabinet so no screws show. DIY Kitchens says the screw must be shorter than the cabinet side and panel combined.

A narrow strip that closes a small gap between the last unit and a wall, or sits beside an appliance. DIY Kitchens sells fillers 100 mm wide in heights from 575 to 2300 mm, to cut down to fit, and says they can be glued with silicone or fixed with L-brackets or mod blocks.

Only where a cabinet side shows. DIY Kitchens says that if the carcase colour is virtually identical to the doors you may not need one, but with gloss or painted doors an exposed end needs a panel. It also advises fillers either side of a freestanding cooker.

A panel that closes the end or back of an island or peninsula. They're far bigger than a base end: DIY Kitchens lists island backing panels at 900 x 900, 900 x 1165 and 900 x 2000 mm. Naked Kitchens says island end panels must be ordered oversized and may need 22 mm added to the width for the door thickness.

Yes. They're fixed, so they're sprayed in place while the doors and drawers go to the workshop; Matt Finish lists end panels among the fixed items it sprays on site. Spraying Revolution publishes £40 a panel.

How a kitchen respray works, step by step

Sometimes, if the range is still made. But ranges get discontinued, and one door supplier warns that lacquered, vinyl and painted doors all change colour over time in daylight, so a new panel can look brighter than the doors next to it. Respraying doors and panels together gives one colour.

Rather have it sprayed for you?

Send two photos of your kitchen and we'll price the respray from them. The quote costs you nothing.

Get my free photo quote